Verition Fund Management LLC Sells 746,333 Shares of NiSource, Inc $NI

Verition Fund Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) by 65.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 398,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 746,333 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in NiSource were worth $16,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of NiSource by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 20,857 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,601 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its position in NiSource by 105.1% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 18,305 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $763,000 after acquiring an additional 9,379 shares in the last quarter. Fieldview Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $376,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 18,864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $788,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Investment Services LLC boosted its position in shares of NiSource by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC now owns 11,092 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $463,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NiSource Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE NI opened at $47.46 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.26. The company has a market capitalization of $22.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.56. NiSource, Inc has a 1 year low of $38.45 and a 1 year high of $48.98.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.06. NiSource had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 8.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. NiSource has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.070 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. NiSource’s payout ratio is 59.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NiSource

In other NiSource news, EVP Melody Birmingham sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.19, for a total value of $471,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 117,899 shares in the company, valued at $5,563,653.81. The trade was a 7.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 15,000 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.68, for a total transaction of $715,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 35,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,716,003.20. This trade represents a 29.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,305,675. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NiSource from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered NiSource from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays upped their price target on NiSource from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Evercore set a $52.00 price target on NiSource in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NiSource presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.33.

About NiSource

NiSource, Inc (NYSE: NI) is a publicly traded energy holding company headquartered in Merrillville, Indiana, that primarily owns and operates regulated local gas and electric utilities in the United States. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company delivers natural gas and electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers and provides the associated distribution and transmission services that keep local energy systems functioning.

The company’s core activities include natural gas distribution, electric transmission and distribution, system operations, maintenance and emergency response.